Machine for gathering signatures



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sl1eet 1. D. M. SMYTH. MACHINE FOR GATHERING SIGNATURES.

Patented July 1, 1890.

(No Model.) I 3 Sheets-Sheet 2. D. M. SMYTH.

MAGEINE FOR GATHERING SIGNATURES.

No. 431,215. Patented July 1, 1890.-

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet. 3.

D. M. SMYTH'.

MACHINE FOR GATHERING SIGNATURES. No. 431,215. Patented July 1,1890.

UNITED STATES PATENT. OFFICE;

DAVID M. SMYTH, OF NORTI-IWOOD, NEIV HAMPSHIRE.

MACHINE FOR GATHERING S IGNATURES.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent No. 431,215, dated July 1, 1890.

Application filedApril 15, 1889- Serial No. 307,247. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, DAVID M. SMYTH, of Northwood, in the county of Rockingham and State of New Hampshire, have invented an Improvement in Machines for Gathering Signatures in Book-Binding, of which the follow ing is a specification.

In the binding of books it is usual to fold the separate sheetsiuto what are known as signatures, and to make piles of these natures, and to take one signature from each pile in bringing together the signatures that form one volume. The present invention is for accomplishing this object by machinery and in such a reliable manner that the possibility of mistake in collecting the signatures will be avoided. The piles of signatures are laid in separate receptacles, and one signature edges of the paper are not folded or injured and each signature is brought to the proper place so as to form the volume. Where but a few signatures are required in making up the volume, only one range of boxes may be used; but I prefer to employ two or more ranges of boxes, one above the other, for the reception of the signatures, and the piles of signatures from each range of boxes are brought together into a vertical receiver, from which they are removed to be bound in any usual manner.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of the machine. Fig. 2 is a plan view' of the same, and Fig. 3 an end elevation. Fig. 4- is a cross-section at the line a: co, Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a plan; Fig. 6,a side view, in larger size, of

the traveler for bringing the range of signatures together into a pile. Fig. 7 is a section at the line 3 y of Fig. 6 Fig.8 is a plan, and Fig. 9 anelevation in larger size, of oneof the stationary lifters that cause the signatures to pass one above the other, and showing also some of the adjacent parts. Fig. 10 is a plan,

and Fig. 11 a section, of the pusher and adjacent parts. Fig. 12 is a section. at the upper part of the receptacle for the signatures as gathered. Fig. 13 is an elevation, and Fig. let a plan view, of a modification in the brackets for supporting the piles of signatures.

The machine is supported upon the sills A and vertical posts B, and there are transverse connecting-bars C and longitudinal connecting-bars D forming the frame, and the driving-shaft E is supported in bearings in the lower part of the frame.

I make use of ranges of boxes F. There may be one, two, or more such ranges of boxes. I prefer to employ five or six such ranges; but only three ranges are shown, and each box is made of a bottom 2 and a division 3, and the boxes are to besufficiently large for the re ception of the largest size of signatures with which the machine is to be used, and in order to adapt the boxes to different sizes of signatures I provide a stationary front F, so that the pile of signatures can be laid into the box from the back with the folds thereof against the division 3 and against the stationary front F, and at the back portion of each box is a movable vertical gage 6, having a slotted base through which passes the screw 5, so that the gage can be moved toward 'or from the stationary front F, according to the length of the folded signatures, and I also make use of a vertical gage a, having a horizontal base that is attached at the other end by a screw a to the bottom 2, and upon this screwthe vertical gage a can be swung up against the edges of the signatures as they lie in a pile within the box.

Between the bottoms 2 of the boxes and the lower edge of the stationary front F there is a long horizontal opening that is sufficiently wide to allow the free passage of the thickest folded signature, and upon the stationary front F, and near the middle of each box, is a separator H, which is attached to the stationary front F by a screw 7. This separator may be adapted to swing; but I have shown the same as sliding vertically and being at the back of the stationary front F, and extending up and over the top of the same and perforated for the screw '7, so that the lower edge of .the separator may be raised or lowered to allow only the necessary Width of opening between the bottom end of the separator and the bottom 2 of the box. for one signature I ing-slide is slotted longitudinally for the traveler P, hereinafter described, and the bottom 2 of each box is slotted longitudinally for the pusher N, that extends up from the reciprocated stock or bar L, and the pusher is sufliciently thick for carrying out the bottom signature from the pile of signatures within the box and delivering such signature upon the collecting-slide G. The reciprocating stock L has upon it one pusher for each box, and there is one signature delivered from each box every movement of the reciprocating stock L, and I remark that there is a stock and range of pushers for each range of boxes, and the pushers and reciprocating stocks upon all three ranges of boxes shown in the drawings have the same letters of reference. It is preferable to attach each pusher by two screws to the rounding top part of a block (see Fig-.11) that extends up into the slot of the bottom of the box, so that the edge of the pusher that comes into contact with the signature can be raised-or lowered by adjusting the screws.

In order to give motion to the reciprocating stocks L and to the traveler P, any suitable mechanism maybe employed; but I prefer to use a crank 11 upon the shaft E, with a connecting-rod 10 to the rack-slide (Z, at the ends of which are racks d 61 that act upon pinions 0 upon the vertical shafts f f, that are supported in suitable bearings upon the frame of the machine, and upon these vertical shafts f f are pulleys 50, with cords 51 to the bases of the travelers P, so that as the rack-slide d is reciprocated and the pinions e and vertical shafts ff are revolved firstin one direction and then the other direction the cords 51 pull each traveler P first one way and then the other way, and while the traveler is going in one direction the signatures are carried off by it and piled up, and.

while it is going in the other direction the traveler passes beneath the signatures as they are projected from the boxes, and the extent of motion given to the travelers is to be so proportioned that such travelers will move the proper distance along the front, of each range of boxes and within the slot in the collecting-slide G.

Each traveler P is provided with a swinging finger 52, pivoted at 53, and having a downwardly-projecting arm 54, to the lower ends of which the cords 51 are attached, and the movement of the arm 54 is limited by stops, as seen in Fig. 6, so that when the traveler is being drawn toward the right in the respective figures the finger 52 is elevated, as. shown in Fig. 6, and carries along with it the signatures, and when the motions of the shafts and pulleys are reversed and the cords 51 drawn in the opposite direction natures as they are being projected from the respective ranges of boxes.

I11 order to give motion to the reciprocating stocks or bars L and the pushers con-' nected with them, I find it convenient to employ toothed racks 56, extending off at right angles from the ends of the respective stocks or bars, and adjacent to pinions 57 on the vertical shafts f f, and these shafts being revolved simultaneously, and first in one direction and then in the other, carry the toothed racks and the reciprocating bars L backward and forward bodily and project the bottom signature in each box, and then the pushers return back under the piles of signatures a sufficient distance to go behind the piles of signatures and be in position for carrying out another set of signatures upon the next movement.

As the signatures lie fiatwise upon the collecting-slide G, it is necessary to lift one signature to cause it to pass above the next, so that the pile of signatures may be formed as the traveler P moves from one end of the collecting-slide to the other. To effect this object I place upon the collecting-slide G, and adjacent to the end of each division 3, a lifter h, formed, preferably, of apiece of thin sheet metal bent as a compound curve, (shownin Fig. 9,) and with a concave groove adapted to receive one edge of the signature, preferably the folded-back edge as it is projected from the box; hence as the pile of signatures is accumulated by the movement of the traveler P from the left to the right, Figs. 1 and 2, the signature at the extreme left is raised by the lifter 7t over the next signature to the right,

and then the two signatures are raised over the third signature, and so on, and the compound curved upper edge of thelifter h raises the paper of the signature without folding or injuring the same, so that one sheet laps upon the other, and these lifters h are preferably close against the outer-ends of the division 3, between the ends of such division and the longitudinal slot in the collecting-slide G, and

it is advantageous to employ a range of lifters 7t in line with the lifters h at the outer edge of the collecting-slide, which lifters h may be similar to the lifters h, or they may be simply upwardly-inclined blocks upon the top surface of the collecting-slide, the vertical edges of which are in range with the lift-;

ers 71'. I remark that the cords 51 on the pulleys 50 to the traveler P are passed around guide-pulleys 59, so that the cord will be. brought into line with the longitudinal slot in r the collecting-slide G.

If but one range of boxes is made use of, the signatures, as they are collected together into a pile, 'may be left upon the collectingslide G at the end thereof to be taken away by hand; but where the signatures from two or more ranges of boxes go to make up one volume it is preferable to deliver the piles of signatures vertically, and with this object in View I make use of the guards k The guards k are horizontal, and rest at their lower edges upon supports adjacent to the collectin g-slides G, and the guard is is vertical and.

attached to the ends of the guards k, and these guards can be moved in or out, according to the size of the signatures to be col leoted, there being a proper space left between the guards k and the stationary fronts F for the signatures, and at the ends of the stationary fronts F is a vertical stationary slideway Z, having a vertical slot for the lifter Z having connected with it a horizontal table Z and there is a cord 60 from one of the pulleys passing over the pulley 61 and attached to thelifter Z so that the table Z is raised and lowered. Each motion of the machine and the parts are so adjusted that when the table Z is lowered it comes into line withv the collecting-slide G of the lowest range of boxes, and when such table is lifted it rises above the collecting'slide in the upper range of boxes,

and there are upon the surfaces of the vertical guard 7c and the vertical slidewayl springfingers 63, that yield to the piles of signatures that are lifted by the table l and then such fingers swing or spring out below the bottom signature in the pile of signatures, holding such pile in' an elevated-position and sufficiently above the collecting-slide G of the top range of boxes for the pile of signatures from that collecting-slide to pass under the piles of signatures held up by such spring-fingers In order to limit the movement of the piles of signatures as they are pushed along upon I the respective collecting-slides Gr and beyond the ends of the same,I make use of a vertical gage m, that is connected to the slidewayZ by slotted angle-irons and clamping-screws 65, so that this vertical gage m can be adapted to the width of the folded signatures.

I make use of a swinging bracket 0, which is preferably made of wire coiled around the pivot-supports 66 and having a downwardlyprojecting leg, which forms a stop, so that in the normal position each swinging bracket 0 is horizontal and forms a continuation of the top surface of the upper collecting-slides G, so that the piles of signatures from the upper collecting-slides G are pushed by the travelers P upon these brackets 0 at the ends of their movements, and these brackets 0 support the upper piles of signatures and the table Z receives upon it the lower pile of signatures, and as it is lifted it carries up such pile of signatures and they come under the next pile of signatures above and lift such pile of signatures, and in so doing the bracket 0 swings upwardly and movesout from between one pile of signatures and the next, and the legs of the bracket assume a horizontal position, while the bracket is left in a vertical position, and the same operation is performed with the upper swinging bracket as the piles of signatures are raised to the extreme elevated point and sustained by the spring-fingers, as before designated, and as the table I descends it comes in contact successively with the legs of the swinging brackets and moves them from ahorizontal to a vertical position and brings the swinging brackets down into their normal horizontal position, ready for the next piles of signatures.

It is to be understood that where the number of boxes in the machine is as great as the number of signatures in two or more Volumes the necessary number of boxes may be used and two or more volumes of signatures delivered at each movement of the machine. The boxes in this machine might be inverted, provided the piles of signatures were raised by springs, and in that instance the pushers would take off the top signatures of the piles instead of the bottom ones. I prefer to make each alternate partition 3 movable, so that by taking the same out the machine is adapted to the reception of large sizes of signatures, no other change being necessary.

I find, practically, that in some instances the signatures are comparatively thin, and are liable to be buckled by the pressure of the pushers acting against the back edges only of the paper. To avoid this diflrlculty a piece of rubber or a roughened surface may extend from the pusher under the surface of the signature to a greater or less extent to apply the necessary friction for pushing out the signature, as seen at 1), Figs. 10 and 11, and in these figures I have also represented the manner in which the pusher N can be adjusted by the screws to raise or lower the edge which comes into contact with the signature, the countersunk screws that passthrough the pusher being made use of for rocking the pusher and raising or depressing the front edge thereof, according to the thickness of the folded signature.

Instead of swinging the brackets up by the movement of the table, there may be an incline Z, Figs. 13 and 14, upon the lifter Z to press the bracket back and slide it horizontally as the signatures are lifted, and the IIO bracket is drawn out by the incline as the table descends.

I claim as my invention 1. The combination, with a range of boxes for holding piles of signatures, of a pusher to move one signature out from each box, a collecting-slide and a traveler to move the signatures along, and lifters to raise one signature above the next, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination,with two or more ranges of boxes for holding piles of signatures, of pushers for moving the signatures out of the respective boxes, travelers for gathering the signatures into piles, and a moving table to bring together the two or more piles, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination,with the range of boxes for holding piles of signatures, pushers for moving the signatures out of the respective boxes, and a reciprocating bar to which the pushers are connected, of racks attached to the bar, Vertical shafts at the ends of the range of boxes, and pinious upon the shafts moving such racks, a crank, and reciprocating rack-bar, and pinions for revolving the shafts and pinions first one way and then the other and giving motion to the racks and pushers, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination, with the boxes for holding piles of signatures, of gages with slotted bases and screws by which the gages are adjusted, and a stationary front to the range of boxes, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination, with the range of boxes for receiving the piles of signatures and pushers for discharging such signatures, of a slotted collecting-slide upon which the signatures are received from the boxes, a traveler in such slot, vertical shafts and pulleys at the end of the range of-boxes, and cords extending to the traveler for moving the same in first one direction and then the other, and connections from the shafts to the pushers for giving motion to the same in harmony with the travelers, substantially as specified.

6. The combination, with the slot-ted collecting-slide G, of a traveler having a swinging finger 52, a pivoted arm 54, and the cord connected to the arm for moving the traveler and raising and lowering the swinging finger, substantially as set forth.

7. The con1bination,-with the range of boxes for holding the piles of signatures and pushers for delivering the signatures from the boxes, of a collecting slide upon which the signatures are delivered, and lifters upon the collecting-slide to lift the respective signatures and cause them to shingle one upon the other as they are gathered into a pile, substantially as set forth.

8. Thecombinatiomwith the ranges of boxes for holding the piles of signatures, the pusher for delivering the signatures from the boxes, and the travelers for gathering the signatures into piles, of the collecting-slides, the guards at the edge of the collecting-slide, and the vertical guard and stationary slideways, and a lifting-table for bringing together the respective piles of signatures, substantially as set forth.

9. The combination,with the ranges of boxes for holding the piles of signatures, the pushers, and the travelers, of collecting slides upon which the signatures are delivered from the boxes, vertical guards and slideways, a vertically-moving table, and moving brackets at the ends of the collecting-slides, substantially as set forth.

10. The combination, with the ranges of boxes for holding the piles of signatures, the pushers, and the travelers, of vertical shafts, pulleys, and cords or connections to the refront F and the bottoms 2 for forming the boxes for the reception of the signatures, of the divisions 3, the alternate ones being removable, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

Signed by me this 15th dayof March, 1889.

DAVID M. SMYTH. Witnesses:

GEo. T. PINCKNEY, WILLIAM G. Morr.

spective travelers, and mechanism for revolvv 

